How Minnesota Went From Tom Sawyer to Huck Finn Fifty years ago it was ‘the state that works.’ Now it’s become a microcosm of an America in crisis.

Wall Street Journal ^ | 1/21/22 | Lance Morrow

[MAGA2017]

I wrote an August 1973 cover story for Time magazine that praised Minnesota as “the state that works.” The cover photograph showed Gov. Wendell Anderson, dressed in a plaid flannel shirt, grinning and holding up a northern pike that he had just caught in one of Minnesota’s 12,000 lakes.

The story began with this archaic rhapsody: “It is a state where a residual American secret still seems to operate. Some of the nation’s more agreeable qualities are evident there: courtesy and fairness, honesty, a capacity for innovation, hard work, intellectual adventure and responsibility. . . . Minnesotans are remarkably civil; their crime rate is the third lowest in the nation (after Iowa and Maine).”

Almost 50 years later, I received an email from an old friend who lives in Minneapolis. He began: “Another report from the hinterland. The people of Minneapolis now share online updates of carjackings and other crimes. It would be difficult to exaggerate the extent of violent crime throughout the city. Everyone now knows someone who’s a victim. This will be a huge issue in this year’s elections.”

...What happened? Minnesota once enjoyed a high degree of social cohesion rooted in the traditions of previous waves of immigrants. But as the region has grown and become more diverse, the Twin Cities in particular developed most of the problems that bedevil much of the rest of urban America (crime, unemployment, drugs and so on). The reasons for this are complicated and widely debated. In any case, Minnesota now ranks among the worst states in the country when it comes to racial inequality.

[marktwain]

We can disgree over causes. It does not have to be genetic.

Black people from Nigeria do very well in the United States.

I believe black people from Jamaica also do very well.

There are many things which can influence ideological preferences.

The Socialist disaster mainly visits prosperous places, or at least, prosperous classes.

[aquila48]

“Black people from Nigeria do very well in the United States.

I believe black people from Jamaica also do very well.

There are many things which can influence ideological preferences.”

True, but they represent a particular segment of their population. A self-selected group that is better educated, (thus higher IQ), and with enough initiative and long range perspective to go through the arduous task of immigration. They are the cream of the crop. Those, I believe, are genetic traits.

If we could select who we let in on that basis we would have little or no racial descrimination. (Of course we still have the current black population that was selected for different traits, opposite, mostly)

For similar reasons, I also believe that the vast majority of today’s illegals will become very successful in the near future. Again because it took brains, initiative and and great sacrifices to come to this country for a better future. Those are all qualities that lead to success in life, and they are inbred.

Having said that, I’m not in favor of open borders and illegal immigration. We could select people with those qualities through legal means and keep out the bad ones and thus have less strife.

What do you think?

[marktwain]

Not controlling out borders is cultural suicide.

It was different in 1880, when we had lots of land to make productive, and the difficulty of getting here was much greater.

Yes, we would have less strife.

[mewzilla]

Speaking of Minnesota...

https://mobile.twitter.com/jai4sheriff/status/1487047024713347072?s=21

Jai Hanson For Hennepin County Sheriff
@jai4sheriff

Hennepin County! It’s -10 this morning- remember:

The county’s HR Chief works from home in Palm Springs.

The county’s Library Director works from home in LA.

As YOU pay for their 189k and 184k salaries.

Oh and your
@HennepinSheriff
is on probation.

Time for oversight?!?
7:56 AM · Jan 28, 2022